Card Check: Specter Claims A Deal Has Been Reached

Speaking to the AFL-CIO’s Annual Convention this morning in Pittsburgh, PA, Senator Arlen (D-PA) claimed that a deal has been “pounded out” on the Employee Free Choice Act that would be totally satisfactory to organized labor.

The Senator said that framework of such a deal would embrace the core principles of the original legislation, including quick certification of labor unions and some form of binding arbitration for union contracts. The Senator expressed hope that such a deal could be passed by the Senate before the end of the year.

While the Senator didn’t say that actual legislative text has been written, the framework that he laid out in his remarks today demonstrates that any such alternative bill will still be based on the Employee Free Choice as originally written. That bill’s fundamental goal is to create an environment that skews the balance of our labor law system in favor of union organizers.

The NAM remains opposed to any proposal that may stem from the fundamentally flawed card check bill, including provisions that would allow government-appointed arbitrators to set the terms of labor contracts.